Joc Pederson faced more pressure in one at-bat Monday than he did in nine innings Tuesday.

“We put him out there for defense,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said, “and he doesn’t get a ball hit to him.”

That’s because Clayton Kershaw was pitching.

To their credit, the Washington Nationals hit two fly balls to outfielders in the Dodgers’ 4-1 win. One went to left fielder Carl Crawford, one to right fielder Matt Kemp.

Pederson, getting his first major-league start in center field, could only watch and marvel.

“It’s unbelievable how he just hits his spots,” Pederson said of Kershaw. “It’s like a video game, to be honest. It’s a joke.”

Kershaw (17-3) allowed only one run in eight innings en route to his major-league leading 17th victory of the season. In the other seven innings, the Nationals never got a runner past first base.

The lone mistake, a solo home run by Bryce Harper in the seventh inning, was the first RBI by a left-handed batter against Kershaw this season. He’s pitched 169 1/3 innings.

By the time Harper homered, the Dodgers had already mounted a four-run cushion against Doug Fister (12-6). An infield single by Adrian Gonzalez plated two runs in the sixth inning, and Juan Uribe hit a two-run home run in the seventh.

Kershaw has only lost once this season when the Dodgers score four or more runs.

As Kershaw’s star continued on its MVP trajectory, Pederson’s was just beginning to rise.

His first hit — a single to center field off his fists, against Fister — was more poetic than pretty. The consensus top prospect in the organization finished 1 for 3 with a walk.

“I was a little bit more relaxed than last night,” Pederson said. “I thought I slowed the game down. Kershaw threw great, so there wasn’t much action out there.”

Pederson got his first major-league at-bat out of the way Monday. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning against Nationals closer Rafael Soriano, with two runners on base and the Dodgers trailing by two runs. Soriano struck out Pederson on a wicked backdoor slider to end the game.

A more relaxed Pederson was in the starting lineup for the first time Tuesday, while slumping center fielder Yasiel Puig was given a day off.

Puig has only two hits in his last 30 at-bats. Mattingly wouldn’t say when Puig, who made his first National League All-Star team in July, would return to the lineup.

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Neither did he add to the burden of hype on Pederson.

Before the game, Mattingly was asked to compare Pederson to a current or former player.

“I’m not going to put that pressure on him,” he said. “I won’t go the Joe Torre route. You guys can do it.”

When he managed the Dodgers, Torre famously compared Kershaw — as a rookie — to Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Six years later, the comparison hasn’t suffered one bit.

After the game, however, Mattingly couldn’t resist a couple of comparisons.